Spanish GS Trophy Team Selected

Back in June, the first round of BMW Motorrad Spain’s Desafio GS (Spanish GS Challenge) took place at Teruel in the northeast of the country. Fifty-seven GS lovers with their own bikes registered to take part and all of them had the same objective – to be one of the 18 best participants to make it through to compete in the second round of the Desafio GS at the Encuentro BMWRIDERS 2010 event in Formigal. From these final 18, just three riders would be selected for a place on the Spanish team to represent their country in the International GS Trophy in South Africa in November.

Last weekend, the final stage of this GS Challenge was held. Participants began riding against the clock through a series of complicated obstacles. The second test saw the participants climbing a mountain ski track, not for the quickest time, but with a specific time by controlling their speed. After they reached the top, they had to then ride down the mountain as quickly as possible—not by motorcycle but by Trek mountain bikes.

The final stage of the Spanish GS Challenge was held in picturesque Formigal.

After this, the 18 contestants were divided up into groups of three, who then had the unenviable task of pushing a motorcycle all the way to the kart circuit in as short a time as possible. Although exhausted by now, there was no time for rest because the contestants still had to tackle the Mechanical Test which consisted of removing and replacing the front wheel of an F800GS as quickly as possible.

At noon, all the bikes were equipped with the BMW Motorrad Navigator IV and each participant had to then find given ‘waypoints’ along the Valley of Formigal. To avoid competing against time on public roads and at all times respecting the traffic rules, participants had to show the coordinates of the waypoints they had found.

Each participant had to find ‘waypoints’ along the Valley of Formigal.

Once all tests had been completed, the scores were entered into a computer that calculated which three participants were going to be chosen to contest the International GS Trophy 2010 on behalf of BMW Motorrad Spain. It was then down to Juan Luis Fernandez de la Llama, BMW Motorrad Spain Director, to announce the lucky winners, who were Jaime Saiz Cuena, David Borcha Mateo and Arturo Lupón Pallas. These three will be making the journey all the way to South Africa in November, where their biggest GS Challenge will begin.